Vanishing bile duct syndrome in Hodgkin's disease: case report.

Abstract

Liver damage is relatively common in patients affected by Hodgkin's disease. A smaller proportion of cases develops jaundice. Recently, the vanishing bile duct syndrome was described in Hodgkin's disease. The mechanisms of this severe complication have been poorly understood until now. To describe a rare case of intra-hepatic cholestasis due to vanishing bile duct syndrome. Case report. A 38-year-old male patient affected by Hodgkin's disease. Liver biopsy showed no detectable Hodgkin's disease. Intra-hepatic cholestasis was found and none of the six portal tracts analyzed contained normal bile ducts. The treatment was based on conventional and high-dose escalation chemotherapy. The patient died from an irreversible liver failure while in complete remission from Hodgkin's disease.